Herein we present an interesting approach for the reutilization of
coffee waste in water remediation. This is achieved by the
development of bioelastomeric foams composed of 60 wt % of spent
coffee powder and 40 wt % of silicone elastomer using the sugar
leaching technique. In this study, we present the necessary
characteristics of the developed “green” foams for the successful
removal of Pb
2+ and Hg
2+ ions from water, and
we identify the involved mechanisms. The capability of the
bioelastomeric foams to interact with Pb
2+ and Hg
2+
is not affected by the presence of other metal ions in water as
tests in real wastewater demonstrate. The incorporation of the spent
coffee powder in a solid porous support, without compromising its
functionality, facilitates the handling and allows the accumulation
of the pollutants into the foams enabling their safe disposal. The
fabricated foams can be used for the continuous filtration and
removal of metal ions from water, demonstrating their versatility,
in contrast to the sole coffee powder utilized so far, opening the
way for the reutilization and valorization of this particular waste.
http://pubs.acs.org/stoken/presspac/presspac/full/10.1021/acssuschemeng.6b01098